comment #1

thesnowleopard says ...

First this, then Gran Torino aka Harry Callahan in Retirement. I don't think this will be a good year for Clint Eastwood.

comment #2

Kristopher Tapley says ...

People shitting on this movie -- it's getting really old. And in most cases, painfully off base and a whole lot of, "Look at me! Look at me!"

I thought the movie worked quite well and most of these pans would have been better leveled at "Million Dollar Baby," a true horror of a film that was held on high by most of these critics as a glorious achievement.

comment #3

TakeMeBackToManhattan says ...

"Nobody anywhere thinks that."

Actually, Rex Reed has called it as strong an effort as any film Eastwood has ever made.

comment #4

Glenn Kenny says ...

Chris Orr can go get fucked as hard as Joe the Plumber can, for all I care.

This does clear up one mystery—I was wondering who the cretin Megan McArdle's "film critic friend" was. Orr is about as credible a film critic as his cohort Jamie Kirchick is a credible human being.

comment #5

swordandpen says ...

I think the critical reaction to this movie signifies another step towards irrelevancy for most film critics. I think the movie is very flawed but deserves nowhere near this derision from the same critical community that gave an easy pass to both "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones" last summer.

Most of the reviews seem to be more about taking down Eastwood (due to his success the last few years) and Jolie, (who I don't think is a great actress but does fine in this movie) for who they think she is based on the tabloids.

Maybe if critics weren't losing their jobs left and right, they would actually review the movie itself instead of participating in a collective critical takedown of a movie icon to feed their own egos.

comment #6

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Well, I'd be so bold as to call it Eastwood's best film since "The Bridges of Madison County," not because it is any major effort, mind you, but because "Mystic River" (a cut-and-paste from an already successful novel), "Million Dollar Baby" (one of the worst Best Picture victors ever) and "Letters from Iwo Jima" (fine film but unable to make much sense of itself and flawed as a result) were all terribly overrated upon release.

Only "Flags of Our Fathers" got the reaction it deserved out of this run, and even that was given more of a pass than it deserved.

I don't know, maybe critics are realizing they've been out to lunch for five years and suddenly feel the need to break out the knives. It's unfair, but so is making Eastwood into a filmmaker he simply hasn't been in 18 years.

comment #7

cleopatrajones says ...

I saw this last night with a packed crowd at the Arclight and Changeling is not a masterpiece by any means but it's a good film that does not deserve the shit thrown at it. I prefer Jolie's A Mighty Heart but she's good here and the round of appaulse the film received at the end tells me audiences and critics will once again be on opposite sides of the fence.

comment #8

erniesouchak says ...

The movie is wretched. I'm convinced Eastwood just wanted to film a hanging.

comment #9

lipranzer says ...

I don't think it's anywhere near the worst of the year, but I do think this is Eastwood's weakest effort since MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL. He seems uninterested in the psychology of any of the characters, and unfortunately, that psychology is crucial to this type of story. Everyone ends up one-note, and while Jolie tries, as does the actor who plays the serial killer (though he overdoes it), she can't do much with what she's got. I certainly think A MIGHTY HEART was better than this, and she was better in it. The facts of this truly horrifying story were enough to keep me watching, but otherwise, I thought this was a misfire. And I'm someone who still thinks MYSTIC RIVER is Eastwood's best film ever, and I still like everything else he's done since.

comment #10

Chase Kahn says ...

I genuinely liked CHANGELING, and about 100 mins in, I thought it was some sort of masterpiece - the final 20 minutes was bad - but overall, I'm really surprised at the pans. Worst movie of the year? How can he honestly say that COLLEGE, VANTAGE POINT, MAX PAYNE, 10,000 BC, etc. are worse than this. It's just a radical contrarian opinion aimed at getting us to talk about it. Congrats.

comment #11

K. Bowen says ...

I'm basically right down the middle. The film is based on an interesting story, and that helps it through its clear problems.

Jolie definitely has power and presence, but too often she lacks the ability to make much of the flat dialogue here.

One other thing ... I think it's basically a silent movie. Jolie kinda looks like a silent star. The story is simple, very black and white villians, etc. It's better if you think of it that way.

comment #12

K. Bowen says ...

We can all rest assured, though. Pete Hammond has rendered his verdict!

"Another Oscar-worthy masterpiece from Clint Eastwood."

comment #13

Devin Faraci says ...

I really hated this movie. I would have walked out of it if I wasn't expected to review it.

comment #14

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